I recently had the opportunity to try out a starboard longboard and was shocked to see how smoothly it cut through the water unlike my Jp Funster 180 wide board in around 10 knots wind.

Now I love to plane (who doesnt) but i rarely get any planning days as the wind averages are about 10-15 knots for most months...After trying out the longboard I was wondering if it would plane faster than a formula.

Im currently using a funster 180 with a 5.5 sail but I've just picked up a 7.5m 3cam NP Streetracer from ebay (not used it as yet though) which I think should get me planning in 15knots with my board

ah, the eternal question - longboard vs formula
the longboard will glide and plane
the formula will plane and schlogg
depending on your weight - the formula requires LARGE sails
{and long fins too}
the longboard can do well with smaller sizes
i typically cruise and plane on my old Fanatic CAT with an 8.4
bigger sails will feel heavy if not enuff wind
and smaller sails i use on short boards
i am starting to look at the Phantom 320 - since i am a havyweight
since i do like to plane in lighter winds - i have a freeformula
BIC Techno Formula with 94 cm width
this way i have the best of both worlds
for me both worlds are fun
have not gone the entire Formula route

This is the problem with light wind sailing, do we try to chase the elusive planing with special wide boards and giant heavy sails? Then fail because there's still not enough wind or the technique is too difficult and specialized.
Or do we just say screw it and sail a longboard, gliding and planing.
Lot's of things to consider, your weight, water depth, wind consistency, budget etc...
With a giant sail the formula would plane sooner but is the wind consistent enough to stay on the plane? Can you afford an 11M sail, a 520 mast and a giant carbon boom? is the water deep enough for a 65cm fin?

I was faced with the same decision. I had a bunch of formula stuff that I got with my first board, a Starboard Start. The guy I got it from was using the Start as a formula board. The sails were huge and storing them was a major pain. I sold all that stuff except the Start and bought a Kona One and the 9.0 rig. It doesn't always plane out but it is a lot of fun to sail and you can also paddle it when there is no wind. I think I made the right choice with the Kona as it is a very versatile board.

If your prevailing wind is really 10-15 knots, and you weigh 180 or less,
then a formula board and a 9M sail will have you planing pretty much all
the time in those conditions, and that would be my recommendation
(or maybe something formula like that is more freeride). A fast slog
on a displacement hull boarcd is fun ........... for about an hour, and then
unexciting (for me). But, if your prevailing wind is more like 7-12 knots,
then a displacement hull board will get you on the water, will be more
fun than a slogging a "formula" board, and will plane up once in a while
and give you a little thrill.

I think you'll enjoy a longboard more than a formula board at this stage in your windsurfing career.

Compared to the Funster and 5.5, a good longboard with a 7.5 will feel very fast and powerful. The challenges of figuring out how to best use the daggerboard, adjustable mast track, and many footstrap positions will keep things exciting for you in both light and moderate winds.

For you, with a 7.5, there won't be much difference in planing ability between a longboard, a formula board, and your funster. An expert rider could get the formula board to plane earlier than the other boards, but a formula board is not an "easy" planer, and you would probably have a hard time getting it "over the hump" from shlogging mode to planing mode. By contrast, a longboard will smoothly accelerate from gliding to planing, without such a noticeable hump. The funster will be in between the feel of the longboard and the formula board, and might be the best board for learning the shortboard planing skills that you'll need to one day ride a formula board._________________James' Blog: Windsurfing Equipment Size Calculator
http://jimbodouglass.blogspot.com/2010/11/updated-windsurf-calculator-online.html

I’m with Craig here. 10-15 knots is more than enough wind to plane without a formula board if you have good technique and weigh less than 180 lbs. At your stage I would say no to formula board as that is a very wide nose for your mast to impact in the learning stage. Your JP should be fine for now with the 7.5

If you do go the formula route, disregard the myth about needing 9+ meter sails, a formula board will plane fine with your 7.5 and an upper 58-60 cm fin for a rider around 170 lbs, it just won’t go as far up/down wind as it will with a larger setup.

Keep in mind that early planing on a formula board takes good pumping skills and can be good exercise. For me on a formula board and 9.2 race sail, it takes about 9-11 knots to plane with pumping. I weigh 170 lbs. Without pumping it takes about 11-13 knots to plane.

If you don't have steady winds, you will fall of plane often with the formula if winds are in the 6-15 knot range = more pumping. Where I live, a forecast of 10-15 mph winds actually means 3-15.

Both, because if you are like me you will want the other one as soon as you try either.

Neither yet, because it sounds like you haven't sailed with anything bigger than 5.5 which is pretty small outside high wind locales. You will really enjoy the board you have more with a bigger sail. I have never sailed a Formula board (excitedly waiting for my Ultrasonic) - but I think you would get more out of a longboard first.

One good thing to remember about longboards is that they aren't all displacement designs. The F2 Strato that I bought in 1985 was a planing hull design with footstraps, and it would do all the things you would expect from a much smaller planing design. However, despite its great planing characteristics, it wasn't nearly as quick and efficient as a displacement design in non-planing conditions.

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